Nigerian Government Begins ₦50,000 Monthly Relief Payments

The Nigerian Government has started paying ₦50,000 in monthly cash support to eligible vulnerable Nigerians under its National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention (NERSI).

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, announced the start of the payments in a statement dated October 30 and seen on Tuesday.

He described the programme as a presidential initiative aimed at providing quick financial support to vulnerable households.

Doro said the money was meant to help families cope with rising food prices and the high cost of essential goods.

“Under this intervention, eligible beneficiaries will receive ₦50,000 monthly, providing direct assistance to help meet essential needs and ease the burden of living costs,” he said.

The minister added that the government would review the programme regularly to reflect changes in the cost of living.

He said beneficiaries would be informed before any changes were made to the payment.

According to him, the ministry is working with approved digital financial service providers to ensure that beneficiaries receive their money safely and directly.

Doro explained that selected beneficiaries would receive text messages from the approved providers asking them to give their consent before payment.

“Beneficiaries will receive an SMS from one of these providers asking for their consent. This message is genuine. Once consent is given, payment is made directly to the beneficiary’s account/mobile wallet,” he said.

The approved providers and their USSD codes are:

• ALAT by Wema – 94523#
• MoMo PSB – 6710#
• NairaGram – 72600#
• OPay – 95520#
• Moniepoint – 557327#

Meanwhile, the Youth Economic Intervention and De-radicalisation Programme (YEIDEP) said on Facebook on Tuesday that payments under NERSI were ongoing.

It said beneficiaries would receive notifications through the phone numbers linked to their registration details.

The programme also advised people who had not received text messages but saw “NOT SELECTED” when checking their status to wait for the next batch.

“Those who have not received an SMS but checked their status and saw ‘NOT SELECTED’ should remain patient and wait for the next batch,” the post stated.

However, YEIDEP did not promise that everyone with a “NOT SELECTED” status would receive the payment in a later batch.

Doro stressed that beneficiaries did not need to submit a fresh application, pay any money or register through an agent to receive the support.

He also warned Nigerians to be careful of fraudsters who might try to take advantage of the programme.

The minister advised beneficiaries not to share their personal identification numbers or Bank Verification Numbers with anyone.

“If you are unsure about any message, or anyone asks you for money, call the official NERSI helpline on 0700-022-2222,” he said.